Brain and behavioral alterations in subjects with social anxiety dominated by empathic embarrassment
| Autor: | Junya Fujino, Riitta Hari, Jukka-Pekka Kauppi, Kathryn F. Jankowski, Ricardo Pio Monti, Jussi Tohka, Nobuhito Abe, Toshiya Murai, Shisei Tei, Hidehiko Takahashi |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Kyoto University, University of Jyväskylä, University of Oregon, Showa University, University College London, University of Eastern Finland, Department of Art, Aalto-yliopisto, Aalto University |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Male
sosiaalisten tilanteiden pelko Brain activity and meditation media_common.quotation_subject Emotions SOCIAL ANXIETY intersubject correlation Temporoparietal junction EMPATHY Inferior frontal gyrus Embarrassment Empathy 050105 experimental psychology INTERSUBJECT CORRELATION Young Adult 03 medical and health sciences Cognition toiminnallinen magneettikuvaus 0302 clinical medicine empatia medicine Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING embarrassment empathy media_common Brain Mapping Multidisciplinary 05 social sciences Social anxiety Cognitive flexibility Brain Phobia Social Biological Sciences Magnetic Resonance Imaging functional magnetic resonance imaging embarrasment medicine.anatomical_structure Posterior cingulate Female social anxiety Psychology EMBARRASSMENT 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Neuroscience Clinical psychology |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| ISSN: | 1091-6490 0027-8424 |
| Popis: | Significance People are increasingly affected by social anxiety that includes emotional hypersensitivity and inaccurate interpretation of social encounters, and varies markedly in its subjective manifestations. We searched for insights into the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms of Taijin-kyofusho (TKS), a specific subtype of social-anxiety disorder common in East Asia and dominated by empathic or other-oriented embarrassment. We found TKS to be characterized by enhanced affective and reduced cognitive empathy. Moreover, analysis of functional MRI data—collected while subjects viewed videos of badly singing people—revealed disruption of the cognitive–empathy network, possibly obstructing flexible inference of others’ perspective or augmenting maladaptive feelings of embarrassment. Our findings shed light on how altered affective and cognitive processing can contribute to the development of imaginary fears. Social-anxiety disorder involves a fear of embarrassing oneself in the presence of others. Taijin-kyofusho (TKS), a subtype common in East Asia, additionally includes a fear of embarrassing others. TKS individuals are hypersensitive to others’ feelings and worry that their physical or behavioral defects humiliate others. To explore the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms, we compared TKS ratings with questionnaire-based empathic disposition, cognitive flexibility (set-shifting), and empathy-associated brain activity in 23 Japanese adults. During 3-tesla functional MRI, subjects watched video clips of badly singing people who expressed either authentic embarrassment (EMBAR) or hubristic pride (PRIDE). We expected the EMBAR singers to embarrass the viewers via emotion-sharing involving affective empathy (affEMP), and the PRIDE singers to embarrass via perspective-taking involving cognitive empathy (cogEMP). During affEMP (EMBAR > PRIDE), TKS scores correlated positively with dispositional affEMP (personal-distress dimension) and with amygdala activity. During cogEMP (EMBAR < PRIDE), TKS scores correlated negatively with cognitive flexibility and with activity of the posterior superior temporal sulcus/temporoparietal junction (pSTS/TPJ). Intersubject correlation analysis implied stronger involvement of the anterior insula, inferior frontal gyrus, and premotor cortex during affEMP than cogEMP and stronger involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and pSTS/TPJ during cogEMP than affEMP. During cogEMP, the whole-brain functional connectivity was weaker the higher the TKS scores. The observed imbalance between affEMP and cogEMP, and the disruption of functional brain connectivity, likely deteriorate cognitive processing during embarrassing situations in persons who suffer from other-oriented social anxiety dominated by empathic embarrassment. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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